Life in a minute
by jackiechan
Summary: In his last moments, Gan Ning's life flashes before his eyes. Mostly Historically accurate. Tell me what you think.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes I know that historically Shang Xiang and Gan Ning did not know each other, but it works well with people. Enjoy! 

Chapter one

Gan Ning exited his tent, taking in the morning air. It was 222 AD, and Wu and Shu were due to battle on the plains of Yi Ling. It was dawn, and the sun was rising. Ning played a crucial part in it, he was the vangaurd, with at least 500 soldiers under his command. The previous night, he was mildly injured by a wandering arrow, but refused to let it bother him. In his years with Wu, he was used to injuries, especially in the arms. He walked toward the village of war tents to find Lu Xun and Lu Meng repeating tge strategy and tactics, counter tactics, etc.

"Ah, the warrior arises." said Meng with a smirk.

"And joins the mere mortals, blessing them with his presence." Ning retorted, smiling.

"Zhou Yu wishes to see you." Xun broke in, changing the others' expressions.

"He seems to love seeing me lately." Ning said, and departed from his comrades. The group of tents was vast, with big, decorated ones for officers and smaller ones for soldiers. There was barely three feet between each, causing the place to crowd. It was hard enough to navigate the place, let alone find a certain person. With Ning's luck, they usually found him.

"Ning!" called Zhou Yu, waving over the crowd, beckoning for Ning to come.

"What do you want?" Ning spat, fighting the crowd of rushing soldiers to get across. He reached Yu, and was invited into his tent. They entered, and Ning sat on a chair across from a desk. "Well? What?" Ning said, for some reason impatient.

"We are due to engage th enemy, within the next hour."

"Already? We haven't even met with the rest of the army!

"The enemy doesn't know that, and we will gain the element of surprise. You are to move across the valley, and engage their front. Let us worry about the rest."

"Are you sure this will work? You must have some kind of back up plan if you are throwing me at them like that, right?" Ning asked, shiftiing in his seat.

"Afraid, are we?" Yu taunted.

"Please, afraid? I just don't want you to screw this up. We can take Shu off the map with this battle"  
"And we will. Just... trust me." Yu said, hesitant.

Ning rolled his eyes and departed. He fought the rush of people, and went to his own tent. Having no idea how to prepare, he simply layed down, and fell asleep. He was awoken by a vilent shaking, and found Lu Xun hovering over him. Seeing he was awake, Xun left, saying nothing. Ning jumped up, and sheathed his sword, Sea Master. He rushed out of his tent and mounted his horse swiftly, his 500 men already assembled. He barked "Move out!" and instantly his men responded. It would be only a short time before they were to their strike point.

It was only a stretch of open field. Ning's men all dismounted, and hid in the high grass, slowly advancing. The Shu offensive was near, enough to hear the men talking and walking. The Men waited. And waited. Soon enough, they were literally walking right next to them. Ning, at the top of lungs, shouted "Now!" the men leapt up, striking their targets, leaving no survivors. The enemy was in dissaray, and Ning had accomplished his task. He easily hacked through the feeble men, perfectly targeting their necks and chests.

They were winning, and the Shu were retreating. Ning was about to charge, when something stoppd him dead in his tracks. Her... Shang Xiang! Fighting for Shu! She looked different than Gan Ning last saw her, her hair longer, and dressed in green, but it was undoubtedly her. Ning was dumbfounded. She stopped what she was doing, and met him in eye contact. Her reaction was similar. Ning was about to move, when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He put his hand there. An arrow. His conciousness was fading, and he collapsed. His life was about to flash before his eyes...

A/N: So? This is a prolougue, so please tell me if you think it has potential. And yes, he did get shot in the head, historically. But was killed by infection! Neat, huh?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was a hazy morning, as were most mornings in Xia Kou. Ning hated this godforsaken place, yet he remained under the service of Huang Zu. That bastard didnt give him the respect he deserved, but he'd show him. Wu was attacking their lands, and fast. Just the other day Su Fei had sent a scout to survey their progress across the plain, and he returned with several arrows in his back. Ning had since prepared his soldiers, most of whom were shaky and nervous at the thought of battle. Despite the skittish novices, Ning's force was all in all strong. There were a stalwart few that compensated for the poor souls who could barely look Ning in the eye without shaking. He would keep a close eye on them, to make sure not too much harm befell them.

He stepped out of his tent, and breathed in the heavy air. It was filled with dense fog, and it made it difficult to see farther than fifteen feet. On top of the weather, Wu was closing in on their outpost, and fast. Barricades were set up; and would be used to funnel them in, making arrows an even more effective commodity. They were running low on just about everything, especially bravery. The men under Huang Zu's rule were wimps; and would either die or surrender. Ning even thought of it, especially when Huang Zu was around. He always assumed whatever impressive strategy was thought of by Su Fei, and gave him the credit. Fei would tell him it was Ning's idea, but he would refuse to give any notice to a "filthy pirate." It made Ning wonder, _was the money really enough?_ He longed for a master that would respect his talents in war and strategy. Yes, he was a pirate, but those days were gone. Su Fei realized he was of importance, why could Huang Zu?

Ning's musings were interrupted when Su Fei rushed to him.

"Ning! Wu has advanced faster than we thought! We must get to our posts! Quickly!" he blurted, out of breath. Ning responded by whistling loudly, calling his men to him. He sprinted, with his men following behind, to a small base, where he would greet the enemy crossing the bridge. As he ran, arrows flashed by him, felling a few of his men. He could hear their moans and cries as the arrows struck them, but pressed on. The base was constructed of wood in a rectangle, and was erected between two hills, making it an ideal gate. There was a walkway, or "upstairs" for archers, and a door through which the spears and pikes aimed through, skewering infantry as they ran through. Ning overlooked the situation, his sword drawn. A sea of red flooded his vision. He could see the enemy formation perfectly.

"Sir, what are they doing?" asked a private, timidly.

Ning saw what he was inquiring about; a lone man walked ahead of his troops, his arms spread, with his sword drawn.

"He's challenging me." Ning replied. With that, he strutted out of his base, spinning his sword gracefully. He stopped when he reached 30 paces before the man.

"I am Ling Cao, general of Wu! Speak your name!" He spat. Ning had already disliked him. His troops, on the other hand, were getting a kick out of his insolent tone.

"I am Gan Ning. And you should watch your manners, old man." Ning retorted.

"We'll see who's old, scum!" he cried as he charged at Ning. Ling Cao raised up his sword and hacked at Ning, but his blow was simply sidestepped, followed by an insult from Ning. Cao turned around furiously. Ning then performed a mighty leap, and brought his sword down on Ling Cao's chest, slicing through his armor and chest. He let out a brief grunt, and toppled over, dead. There were whispers between both camps, and the Wu forces seemed to cower. That was, all but one.

"You bastard!" yelled the warrior, as he charged out of the ranks towards Ning. His soldiers followed in suit, as did Ning's. They were filled with a new liveliness, and were soon attacking the Wu soldiers. Great clashes were heard, and amidst the confusion, it could barely be told who was who. Ning soon found the man who had yelled, in midair with nunchakus in his hand, swinging them down at him. He barely had tme to black the blow, let alone recoil. This guy was fast, but Ning wouldn't have too much trouble. The man had a rage in his eyes, though why escaped him. His blows were ferocious, but Ning relayed the same power in his attacks, narrowly hitting him almost every time. On a few occasions, Ning had to pull from his duel to slay a soldier who tried attacking him while his back was turned, nearly having him killed by the man he was dueling with. After an eternity of fighting, Ning finally gained the upper hand in the fight. He delivered a shattering kick to the man's knee, which gave a sickening _crack_, followed by his cry of agony. He dropped his nanchakus, but his face was still furious. He fell to his knees, and Ning placed his sword on his throat. The warrior gave no sign of fear or remorse; just the hateful stare.

"Bah, not worth it." Ning muttered as he walked away from the soldier. Most of the Wu soldiers had been killed or routed, an extremely surprising feat for his inexperienced soldiers. He walked away from the broken man, and examined the battlefield. Cai Mao had arrived with the ships, right on time. He began to move out to another location, but was interrupted by a shout from behind. He wheeled around and the man had still tried to get up, and only fell, cursing.

"Give it up, you're beaten." Ning said.

"No! I, Ling Tong, vow to see your blood spilled by my hand! You murdered my father! I'll kill you!" He bellowed, trying, and failing, to get up. Ning again turned around, and took his remaining men to the boats.

"Ah, the pirate flocks to the ships!" Mao teased as he stepped off the boat.

"No, the warrior comes to guide the child through!" Ning spat back.

"What's the situation?" Mao inquired as he drew his sword.

"The first wave has been driven off, and the two armies are at rest, for now. I''m going back to main camp to check in, as my men need arrows and rest."

Mao did not reply, but gave a nod. Ning had maybe 30 remaining men, forcing him to go to the retched Huang Zu. Setting off, his men followed, though fatigued, they did not slack off. They headed through a small corridor of hills, and were keeping pace. Main camp was about 10 miles away; they could be there before the hour ended. The heavy clink of armor sounded through the corridor, accompanied by Ning's bells. They were making good time, when suddenly, an arrow shot by Ning's left side. His lieutenant was instantly killed as it made contact with his head, and Ning took evasive action, running towards the arrow's origin. Troops rushed from the trees, overwhelmind his force. Ning slayed as many as he could, but was alas overtaken. Two hefty soldiers with pikes forced him to drop his weapon, and he did so. The left one retrieved it as the other grabbed him and forced them to march back. He now only had 10 men left, all of which were those nervous, under trained ones he worried about. He smirked, hich earned him a shove in the back by the soldier.

They marched for about an hour, passing Mao's ships, and the bridge on which they fought. A look of defeat was worn on their faces as they marched in the Wu camp, marked by red banners bearing Wu's emblem. They were thrown in makeshift cages constructed of wood, and placed in a pit. Ning found his friend Su Fei, and exclaimed,

"Fei! You look horrible!"

Fei looked up, and smiled thinly.

"It appears not even you could outrun the tiger of Wu." he said.

"Hey! Shut up!" yelled a guard, who threw a stone at Fei, missing. A man walked by the cage, a formal hat upon his head. He had an orange brown beard, and a big red coat, with a sword bearing sections.

"Which of you is named Gan Ning?" he asked sternly.

"Ning raised his hand like a school child, smirking.

"They said you were a joker" the man muttered as he gave the order to open the cage. "Get out." he ordered.

Ning climbed out, a quizzical look on his and Fei's face. The man beckoned for him to follow, and lead him into a great tent. In it was a nice bed, tiger pelt rugs, and a table with a map of china.

"Sit, please." he said. Ning pulled out a chair and did so.

"I am Sun Quan, king of Wu. You may wonder why I have called you here."

"For my pretty face?" Ning joked. His comment was ignored, and Sun Quan continued.

"I have heard many rumors of you, a man who runs with bells upon his side. They say you are a great general, and skilled warrior."

"What of it?"

"I seek to expand by borders, and I will be in need of men like you. Seeing how I now rule your land, I dont think you have much of a chance. YOu will be provided a great home, many commodities, and the respect you deserve in return for your service. What say you?"

A few weeks had passed since Ning had joined Wu. It was everything he had ever hoped for. He was attending a banquet, and was greeted by all the officers, and even Sun Quan. Quan had been the master he craved for. He realized Ning's prowess and brilliance; Huang Zu was a disgrace.

"Ning! I'm glad you came, have a seat!" said Lu Meng, his new friend. Ning sat next to him, and instantly noticed someone...

She came up to him, walking like a goddess, wearing a smile that could drop a man to his knees. Ning greeted her with a wave.

"Who are you, may I ask?" Ning inquired cooly.

"My name is-"

she was cut off by a great crash, followed by,

"That's the bastard that murdered my father! I will have vengence!"

It was the man from the battle in Xia Kou! His knee had obviously healed, for he was charging at Ning with a sword in his hand, and made a great leap towards him, his sword raised. Things went in slow motion. He had to act fast, but how? The sword was getting closer and closer....

_Sorry, lame ending. I have to rush a bit so i can get other stuff done. _


End file.
